Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

What do they call it in cricket—a hat-trick? A trifecta? I'm actually surprised, because I would have given Senator Shoebridge—through you, Deputy President—a little more credit than jumping up to interrupt me when I am clearly now hitting a sore point in relation to what is possibly the most contentious part of this bill—a complete override. For Australians who have turned on this debate, probably by accident, and are wondering, 'Good God—are they talking about actually legislating chaos and anarchy in the Senate?' Well, yes, absolutely. That is what this bill is.

Let's be very careful about what we're talking about and what has so offended Senator Shoebridge on behalf of the Australian Greens—the fact that Senator Scarr and I have actually read the bill. Senator Scarr and I have interrogated the clauses in the bill, and, yes, Senator Scarr and I are prepared to come in here and expose the Australian Greens for what they are: a party that, by this bill, is happy to legislate chaos. Australians, quite frankly, have enough chaos in their lives on a daily basis. They do not need a bill to legislate even more. As I said, section 10 overrides everything. It's a complete override. It is an override without limits for every government everywhere.

Let us be very, very clear. We already have, and I think Australians appreciate, broad freedoms to protest.

Every week people rally in our cities and towns. They march on Parliament House. They gather in public squares. They demonstrate for causes they believe in. That is, quite frankly, a healthy sign in a vibrant democracy. But Australians also know there is a line between legitimate protest and dangerous and disruptive conduct, and this bill deliberately blurs that line. What makes this worse is the rhetoric behind it. The Greens claim that Australia is sliding into authoritarianism simply because states have chosen to impose penalties on reckless and disruptive protesters. Let us be clear. The bill is ill-thought-out, undergraduate, excessive self-adulating pap from the most immature party in our political system. It deserves to be consigned to the dustbin of history.